středa 9. prosince 2015

Prague Municipal Transport

Prague has one of the best system of municipal transport in the world. It's cheap (150 EUR/year), fast (even in night you have a connection each 15 minutes) and efficient (no traffic jams). You can meet famously beautiful Czech girls there too. But how not to get lost?

Metro lines Red, Green and Yellow

First and foremost. Prague have 3 lines of metro. They are A, B and C. Only villagers call them green, yellow and red line as in famous joke when a person from Brno (biggest village in Czech republic) is asking about metro lines while looking at the map - so green is A, yellow is B and red is C he's being explained and he wants to be clever so he says: "I understand. And blue is D." "Blue is Vltava river, you moron."

Night buses and trams

Last metro leaves the end stop shortly after midnight and in the city center it is slightly after 0:15. But even before it ends, night buses and trams start to operate. They usually goes from one end of the city to the other and all the trams meet at Lazarská (between Karlovo Náměstí and Národní Třída - where is the famous non-stop kebab) while most of the buses meet at Masarykovo Nádraží. There are few other places where some connections are waiting each other like buses at I.P. Pavlova or some trams with buses at Náměstí Republiky. The good thing is that if you miss one bus or tram the next is going in 15 minutes (10 during the Friday and Saturday night). The same number is actually only every other connection, but if you live around city center you can basically use more than one mean because their direction would differ only in suburbs.

Ticket validating

When you use tickets (prices of tickets) - which can be bought in almost every newspaper shop, vending machines at stops or from the drivers (though it is a bit more expensive from the drive, they don't have to speak English and not all of the are polite and usually they don't have change for 1000 or even 500) you have to validate them in the big yellow box in the bus or tram or by the entrance to metro, funicular or train. You validate them only once and since that moment the time period when the ticket is valid is running. 
Ticket inspectors at the airport are famous to wait for tourists unaware about this rule so that they can welcome them in your beautiful capital by a fine fine. 

Connection Finder

On the webpage dpp.cz/idos you can find your connection online (and it is usually very precise - except buses which goes through traffic jam areas (during the day), but those are going that often that you never know if this one is late, early or on time). In the past you have to know exact name of the stop, but nowadays you can write Praha, street-name house-number to best connection from your location. 
Find a connection with Prague municipal transport - dpp.cz/idos or http://spojeni.dpp.cz/

The longest line

If you desire to really enjoy the travel in Prague municipal transport, take line 177. By the way, metro is A,B and C, trams are 1-30+ and night trams are 50-59. Buses are 100-300, over 300 is going outside of Prague, 500 are night buses and 6-hundreds are night buses outside of Prague which are not only rare, but going they go to destinations where nothing else is going and if you come from outside your at kicked off on the very furthest end where you have to wait for normal 50 or 500 connection. Anyway with 177 you would also visit nice places starting close to dormitories of Univeristy of Economics (parties and bars and student life is there) and ending not just next to ZOO but also close to Psychiatric Hospital in Bohnice. If you would say, I'm from Bohnice, everyone would immediately understand that you are freak. 

Trains, funicular and horse races

Regular ticket can be used also in local trains (S lines), which unlike express trains stop in each station, in funicular to Petrin ViewTower or season tickets serve as discount or free entrance to Chuchle horse racing arena

Tram Bars

Transportation it's not just about movement. There are places worth seeing which have something in common with municipal transport. I won't speak about the option to hire a tram for beer party, but I'll start with beer tram, one of the good specialty beer bars at the end of line 11 at Spořilov. It's not only place where you can buy (beside regular lager-pils) also specialty beers like IPAs, APAs and other top fermented beers, but it's look like typical low end bar which are so traditional in Czech. 
Directly in the middle of centra Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí) there is small bar where you can have a coffee or beer in historical tram coach.

How to read timetables

On each stop there is timetable available for all the lines which are stopping there. Will be explained here soon.

Request Stop - Na znamení

You have to note the driver when you want to get off on 'Na znamení' stops. It's usually done by button on the doors or button on the hand holders, though some of the hand holder buttons are meant for getting off with baby carriage so the best to press everything until mark 'Stop' above the doors lightens up. When you are waiting on the bus or tram request stop, the driver should stop to check if you want to go, but rather make yourself visible, especially in night. The buses are coming quite precisely on time, so you don't have to be ready all the time. 

Do not sleep

It's not recommended to fall asleep when you travel by night connection alone. You won't get hurt, but you will probably lose your money or phone, especially if your dream were cause by a little bit more drinks that night. 

Žádné komentáře:

Okomentovat